Program to Invite Former JET Participants to the Disaster Stricken Areas in Tohoku

July 28, 2011
Japanese

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is cooperating with the Japan Tourism Agency to hold a program that will support the “homecoming” of experienced former Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) participants who worked for two years or more as Assistant Language Teachers / Coordinators for International Relations to the disaster-stricken areas where they formerly served. This will be held in local municipalities in the three prefectures of Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture that were stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake for about two months starting from August 1 with the cooperation of the three prefectures and the city of Sendai.
The first batch of participants in the program will consist of a total of 14 people: eight people from the United States, three from Australia, two from Canada, and one from the United Kingdom. They will be split up to make their respective “homecomings,” with two people going to Iwate Prefecture, five going to Miyagi Prefecture, six going to Fukushima Prefecture, and one going to the city of Sendai.
Holding this program will deepen the participant’s understanding with regard to the current conditions in Japan, including within the stricken areas, as well as the safety of traveling and residing in Japan. It is also hoped that information like the circumstances that they encounter during their stay in Japan and their impressions from their viewpoint as foreigners will be communicated via various means, including media contributions and appearances, as well as websites, Twitter, and Facebook.

(*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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